The Debating Club is The York School's largest club

Did you know? Debating is the largest club at The York School.

It’s not about the debate. It’s aboutmaking sense of the (sometimesoverwhelming) global issues and theconfidence that grows as a result.

Ryan Cho, soft spoken and always curious, is also recognized as among the best Canadian high school debaters. Whether it’s about welcoming a green technology future, or fixing social isolation, Ryan knows that solutions to global challenges will come through dialogue.

“Watching people step up to make a difference it fills me with confidence that the human race is fully capable of fixing the challenges faced on this planet.”

Ryan the debater believes in the limitless potential of humanity.

His advice to the less hopeful? “Start with community and show how your little corner of work connects to the global issue.” It’s not all ‘sky is falling’ stuff in debating competitions, he adds. “Debating topics are as wide as the horizon.”

“Watching people step up to make a difference fills mewith confidence that the human race is fully capable offixing the challenges faced on this planet.”

“We are a small dot on a giant map, and sometimes the issues heaped on top of each other can be overwhelming,” he says. “But debating the issues, analyzing them and exploring different perspectives is when they start to make sense and we get hopeful.”

“Debate leads to awareness, and awareness to action,” announces Cho. He says this not as an idealist, but with the conviction that it’s an irrefutable fact.

Take, for example, culture and entertainment. Ryan once debated ‘whether Disney Princesses were good for kids.’ Ryan’s mother thinks he “might accidentally become a lawyer.” Ryan is not sure. Yet through debating he has learned about perspective and his place on that giant map.

With help from The York School Fund, Ryan represented York at the World Individual Debate and Public Speaking Championships in South Africa (where he placed in thetop 50).

“Debating helps me break down the big picture.” Ryan is inspired seeing positive action come from thorough discussion.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

4 The York School SPRING 2019 / DONOR IMPACT REPORT 5